Not my circus, not my alpacas #3
The circus owners were a middle-aged couple – the wife from Spain, the husband from Cornwall, and neither of them from a circus family.
This might explain their continued failure.
You could hardly run a business like this on passion and enthusiasm alone.
Nevertheless, Shona felt a lot of empathy for them as they stood amidst the neatly lined up auction items, looking totally lost. There had been an old music system, balls and juggling spheres, moth-infested costumes – and the five animals.
The three alpacas were huddling together in a separate area of the ring, with the two dogs resting nearby.
All five were rail thin and looked even sadder than their unfortunate owners.
Apart from her and Marlin, only three other people had shown up, two of them apparently interested only in watching the auction, while the third had bid on the inventory and the tattered circus tent.
There had been no bids at all for any of the animals.
But her father felt as sorry for the people as she did, and so he had doubled the minimum bid of fifty pounds per animal.
“You’re best off putting that lot straight to sleep,” one of the gawkers commented scathingly.
But Marlin paid him no more attention than Shona did.
These animals urgently needed a good, warm home and, above all, plenty to eat.
They didn’t look sick, just hungry. And as she now thought about how enthusiastically the alpacas had clambered into the trailer, thickly padded with straw and with fresh hay in the racks, she was convinced that she had done the right thing.
Never mind the strong sense of ‘What the heck am I doing?!’ that had set in immediately.
“The two of them knew right away that you are their new human. I’m sure they’ll protect you in any situation,” Marlin raved about the two dogs.
The two giants – had she already mentioned how huge they were?
– had looked at her with their soulful brown eyes, and at that moment, she would have given them her first-born child.
It had been just like this with Nessie back when.
They had looked at each other and it was clear that they belonged together.
Oh dear. The situation had been complicated enough with the one alpaca, and now …
What was she even supposed to do with two huge, shaggy dogs?
She didn’t even want to imagine what Kristy and Hailey would say about their new flatmates!
Compared with Orla and Higgins, Nessie seemed rather manageable.
And once the two of them were up to their ideal weight ...
No, she couldn’t think about that now. And no doubt her da was right: with these two by her side, no one would ever dare attack her – or enter the distillery.
Perfect … She didn’t even want to think about the ramifications for her love life!
What man would ever approach her when she had these two in tow?
“Kendrick will be thrilled,” Marlin continued.
“Because he has five new patients?” she mumbled, trying to dodge the umpteenth dog kiss that came her way. Orla or Higgins, she couldn’t say for sure, showed his or her joy at being rescued quite unabashedly.
“That too,” Marlin said cryptically, but didn’t share whatever other reasons Kendrick might have to be thrilled. Which was fine by her, because it was one more thing Shona didn’t want to think about.
“You could at least have made an effort to win the dogs over,” she complained instead. “You call yourself the greatest dog whisperer in the northern hemisphere, and these two don’t even care to look your way.”
“They just instinctively felt the person they belong with. Irish Wolfhounds are very loyal and only give their heart once – but then forever,” he lectured.
“That’s utter rubbish.” She squeaked as the next dog kiss tried to convince her otherwise. “I don’t even know where to put them. Our cottage isn’t big enough.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a solution sooner or later.”
“You could take them to Harriswood House,” she suggested half-heartedly. “I’m sure Aidan would be all over them.”
“Maybe, but Aidan has Tito, and Orla and Higgins chose you. We cannae take the unconditional affection of animals lightly. They love you, and you’re responsible for them now.”
“I only met them an hour ago,” she protested miserably.
She had apparently lost control over her life, and yet she couldn’t ignore the warm sensation she felt deep down.
The trust these dogs had immediately showed her touched her just as much as it had with Nessie.
For better or worse, she would have to come to terms with having two more pets from now on.
“Time is no’ a factor when it comes to love,” Marlin declared wisely. “Enjoy this gift. It winnae last too long.”
“What does that mean?” She looked at him in alarm.
“Well, they’re said to be two years old. Dogs that size dinnae usually live that long. Six, seven, eight years maybe. This pair is malnourished and may be sick too, so they may not even make it that long.”
“Excuse me?! What kind of attitude is that? First you swoon about dogs’ great love, and then it’s not worth it anyway because they’re going to die soon?” She snorted and stroked the shaggy head on her shoulder reassuringly.
“I didnae say that. In fact, I was trying to say the exact opposite. I was pointing out that time doesnae factor into love at all. You can fall in love at first sight and know that it’s forever.
Sometimes it takes years or decades for the spark to catch fire, and sometimes a great love lasts only a few years.
But even if a couple has grown apart or one dies, the essence of that love still remains. ”
Shona didn’t know what to say. It was pretty obvious that her father was no longer talking about dogs or alpacas, or only metaphorically.
But they had never talked about love either.
So far, she simply had nothing to contribute to the subject, and neither had he in her lifetime.
At least not when it came to romantic love.
She knew her mother had been the love of his life, even though the two of them had certainly not had an easy marriage.
As long as Shona could remember, there had never been another woman in his life.
Or if there had, he must have been very discreet about it.
Why was that? Had he denied himself a new love not to taint the memory of his wife?
That would be nonsense, wouldn’t it? Or could no one hold a candle to her mother?
Then again, what was he talking about when he said it could take decades to fall in love?
Was there a special someone in Marlin Fraser’s life?
“What are you trying to tell me, Da?” she finally asked when the silence became heavy.
Marlin just shrugged, but hidden by his beard she sensed a knowing smile.
“Come on, you can’t just say stuff like that and then give me no context. And don’t tell me you’re still talking about the dogs.”
“I am! It’s about them too. It gives me hope that you are capable of real love. First your alpaca, now these two. All these animals have softened your heart.”
“Softened my heart?” This was getting better and better! What was up with her father today? “I’ve never considered my heart in need of softening,” she said, slightly offended.
“Maybe that was no’ the best way to express it,” he relented. “There’s nothing wrong with your heart, of course. You’re generous and kind. Then again, you’ve always closed your heart to love, and tha’s no’ good.”
“But that’s not true at all! There’s a lot of love in my life. For you, my siblings, the rest of our family, my friends.”
“Aye, and tha’s love too. A very beautiful, very important type. No’ always easy, but lasting.”
“Exactly. So what’s this about me closing my heart to love?” Even as she said it, she realised that she had taken his bait and wouldn’t get out of the conversation now. It annoyed her that her father had pretty much called her a cold-hearted woman incapable of love.
“What about romantic love?”
“What about it?” she grumbled irritably. She’d taken the bait, now he was reeling her in.
“Have you ever been in love with any of the men you dated?”
“There were some blokes I liked,” she dodged a direct answer.
Why was he asking? And what did ‘in love’ really mean?
How was she supposed to know for sure? Her heart had been pounding often enough, and there had been some crying here and there when the guy in question had ended things.
But she couldn’t say if it was love spurned or just wounded pride that had made her cry, and she didn’t want to think too closely about it either.
“Alright,” was all he said.
“Alright?”